{"id":82666,"date":"2026-02-04T19:15:35","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T18:15:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/?p=82666"},"modified":"2026-02-04T19:46:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T18:46:29","slug":"jail-time-for-parking-that-blocks-emergency-services-new-law-sparks-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/jail-time-for-parking-that-blocks-emergency-services-new-law-sparks-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"Jail time for parking that blocks emergency services, new law sparks debate"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\">All vehicles parked in double rows on public roads, blocking access for emergency services such as the police, ambulances, or fire brigades, will face penalties of up to one year in prison, according to amendments to the new Road Code.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">Although the Minister of Justice stressed that double parking will be treated as a criminal offense only in cases where it obstructs the movement of emergency vehicles, the changes have nevertheless sparked debate and uncertainty among citizens and experts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">\u201cThe problem here is that every violation of the Road Code has a specific penalty, and the countermeasure taken must be proportional and not disproportionate to the driver\u2019s action. This is an administrative violation and should be considered as such\u2026 If roads are blocked violently, during demonstrations or strikes, that constitutes a violent act and then responsibility is assumed by law enforcement authorities,\u201d said <\/span><span class=\"s1\">Mamir Hodo<\/span><span class=\"s2\">, a road safety expert.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\">The amendments to the Criminal Code, which include prison sentences of up to one year for double parking that blocks emergency vehicles, were approved in Parliament with 85 votes in favor from the ruling majority. The law is expected to be decreed by President <\/span><span class=\"s1\">Bajram Begaj<\/span><span class=\"s2\">, and then published in the Official Gazette before entering into force.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>All vehicles parked in double rows on public roads, blocking access for emergency services such as the police, ambulances, or fire brigades, will face penalties of up to one year in prison, according to amendments to the new Road Code. Although the Minister of Justice stressed that double parking will be treated as a criminal [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":82667,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153,1803],"tags":[243,151],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Jail time for parking that blocks emergency services, new law sparks debate - Euronews Albania<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/jail-time-for-parking-that-blocks-emergency-services-new-law-sparks-debate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jail time for parking that blocks emergency services, new law sparks debate - Euronews Albania\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"All vehicles parked in double rows on public roads, blocking access for emergency services such as the police, ambulances, or fire brigades, will face penalties of up to one year in prison, according to amendments to the new Road Code. 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